Iran quake of magnitude 5.1 kills two

Two people died, and 22 were injured when they fled their homes in panic during an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 that struck northern Iran early on Friday, Report informs citing the Fars News Agency.

There were several mild aftershocks, but no severe damage from the quake, which struck after midnight on the border of the provinces of Tehran and Mazandaran, authorities said.

Officials have urged people who had spent the night outdoors to observe social distancing to limit the spread of coronavirus, which has killed 6,486 and infected 103,135 in Iran.

They have assured the public there is no shortage of petrol as people rushed to gas stations to fill up after the quake.

Among the dead was a 21-year-old woman in Tehran who suffered heart failure, and a 60-year-old man in the city of Damavand, east of the capital, killed by a head injury, officials said.